This past weekend Peanut got picked up at camp. Here she is (above) with a couple of her camp pals. She ages out this year, so it might be her last, unless she wants to be a counselor in training. We'll see.
After camp we drove over to Carlton, MN for the Voyageur 50 Mile Ultramarathon. After checking in with race officials the night before, Peanut and I drove up to Duluth for dinner. We had spaghetti at Grandma's restaurant (Grandma is the namesake for Grandma's marathon). While there we enjoyed the sites and sounds and ambiance of Duluth and Lake Superior (above). Good father-daughter bonding time.
This was my second run at Voyager. Both times I started with a Mankato running pal, TW. Here we are at the start of Saturday's event. Three years ago we toed the start line and rand the first section together. I finished in 10h 30m, but sadly TW suffered one of his very rare DNFs (did not finish). The conditions were blistering hot which aggravates any nagging injury, and demoralizes even the most determined runner.
This year would be different. TW and I stuck together for the first 4 sections, through the dreaded Power Lines, (five, very steep, roller coaster hill climbs of about 350 feet each, on gullied and muddy surfaces... and that's being nice). Our carefully paced efforts paid off for both of us. We both had plenty of leg to make the return tip. You can sort of see (above) the mud and crap on my scrawny legs after they crossed the finish line in 10h 25m for a PR (personal record) on this course. Peanut volunteered at one of the aid stations and enjoyed the sites, sounds and people of this terrific event.
We returned home to a quieter household. Beaner is in Pittsburgh with church doing a community service project. Chalupa is off at Wapsi-Y summer camp. The crops of beans, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes are all bountiful.
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